Google recently revealed that some scammers are using devices known as “SMS blasters,” which act as fake cell towers and broadcast strong signals to force nearby phones to abandon their LTE or 5G connection and move to the less secure 2G network.
Once the phone migrates to the old network, attackers can exploit the vulnerabilities to deliver phishing messages that appear convincing and evade some modern protections.
Since Android 12, Android has provided options that allow the user to disable the 2G connection from the phone. As for Android 17, Google has developed protection so that participating telecommunications companies can disable 2G by default for their subscribers, which reduces the attack surface without the user needing to intervene.
Therefore, if your phone and the telecommunications network you are using do not require 2G, it is useful to check the phone’s network settings to see if the option to disable it is available, keeping in mind that the availability of the option and the effect of disabling it varies depending on the phone and telecommunications company.
